Candy of my Labor

Here's a shot of this year's candy extravaganza--50 POUNDS worth of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, alcohol (for fillings), sugar, heavy cream, butter, pecans, packaging materials (candy cups, foil, cello wrap), time (@ 10 days) and serious amount of MY effort. I didn't count up the cost, because I had some of the stuff from the previous year, plus open bottles of booze, but I also had to purchase more supplies. I DO know I spent over $100 for caramel, 10# of milk chocolate and boxes.

Christmas candy 2011



Top row L-R: Limoncello, Aftershock Cinnamon, Grand Marnier (wht. choc.), Peppermint Schnapps, Frangelico, Butter Shots

2^nd Row L-R: Rum Raisin, Whiskey Toffee, Strawberry Margarita, Key Lime, Grand Marnier (dk. choc), Amaretto
3^rd row L-R: Sea Salt Caramel, Chambord, Polar bear poop (oreo), Reindeer poop (peanut butter)
Bottom row L-R: Peanut Brittle, Pumpkin Fudge, Dark Chocolate fudge, English Toffee, Peanut Butter fudge, Peppermint fudge, Turtle

Last year, I forked over the money to pay for a small one rate priority mail boxes to mail candy to various friends. Sorry, but it isn't happening this year, UNLESS you can help me with the mailing costs.

If I can hand deliver my product then you will get some, otherwise, *shrugs* sorry.

Oh, and if you gritching about my stinginess, well, there's a reason that good candy will go for $35 a pound.   

Later, Peeps!

From Christmas Mess to Evil Leprechauns

I AM FINISHED WITH CANDY FOR 2010!

I have packed the excess chocolate that I ordered and place it in the deep freeze to be thawed out for my next maniacal candy making session.  The molds are cleaned and boxed and ready to go back into storage.  And half of the candy has been delivered (and consumed, if my hubster is to be believed), though I still have to deliver candy to a few friends and family members, but that's it! 

I don't know about y'all, but as much as I love Christmas, I hate the extra mess that happens (cards on the table waiting to be addressed and signed, the candy making stuff and now the packed boxes, the extra lights for outside when we blow fuses or bulbs, the dust that breeds around all the Christmas geegaws, the wrapping paper room, end of the year projects the child has for school, etc. etc.). 

I couldn't hold a party in my house even if I wanted to!--And trust me, I no wanna hold any stinking parties!

So what am I thinking about now?

Leprechauns, of course!

I probably told you about a website called Duotrope.  If I haven't told you about it, then it's high time that I did!  Duotrope is a free website that lists ALL the magazines out there, from paying to non-paying, from old established print mags to new fly-by-night electronic rags.  It's an incredible resource for writers.

Anyhoo, I was sitting in the car playing with my EVO phone the other day while the hubster ran into the pharmacy.  As I was perused my email, I saw one from Duotrope--I signed up for their updates and I get a weekly email.  Normally, I don't really 'LOOK' at them, but I had some time to kill so I scrolled down to their list of magazines that are looking for anthologies. 

There was a call for LEPRECHAUNS and FAIRIES! 

OH. MY. GOSH!

I had written a story about leprechauns last March! No fairies, but it does have pixies in it.  So I dusted off the story, reread it-tweaking it as I went along-and submitted it to Irish's Story Playhouse.  Oh, I could get rejected, but as my friend Cyndi said, "I won't be your first." And my response, "And it probably won't be my last." So my story is in the queue for the submission editor.  If the story gets bought, then I'll be the proud owner of $3.00--Yes, that's right, three bucks.  But more important than anything, I'LL HAVE A PUBLISHING CREDENTIAL!  And right now, that's more important to me than making a gazillion bucks . . . well, maybe not MORE important, but you know what I mean.  Once I get a publishing cred, I can use it when I query my stories, proving that I'm not just a hack!  Yay!

Until next week, Peeps!

I know y'all will probably have better things to do than blog hop, but I'll try to keep it interesting . . . even if I have to give out some more candy recipes!

Busy Making Candy

Over the last two days, I've been busy making candy fillings . . . and I'm not even close to finishing. 

For the most part, I enjoy this task that I set myself every year.  I make my own truffle fillings for my filled candies.  I also make caramels, fudges, turtles, peanut brittle and toffee.  And I'm not like some people who keep their recipes a closely guarded secret.  If you want my recipe, I'll give it to you. 

BUT I make my candy fillings visually.  In other words, I eyeball everything--no measuring, which makes it difficult for me to 'write' down a recipe and duplicate it exactly.  I basically follow the same technique for most of my fillings.

I invented a Strawberry Margarita filling yesterday. Here's my rendition:

Take handful of frozen strawberry slices (roughly 1/2 cup) and place in glass cup measure, add roughly 1/4c tequila (Cuervo Gold has more flavor than the clear stuff) and add the juice of one large lime.  After the strawberries melt, blend together with hand blender (should be about 1 cup--add tequila to top off).  Pour into heavy saucepan and add enough sugar to sweeten (See?  Told you, I don't measure stuff), anywhere from 1/4-2/3 cup (don't over sweeten because you will be adding white chocolate to the mixture).  Boil down (alcohol cooks out, but the flavor stays), stirring regularly until it resembles the thickness of cold pancake syrup. Taste, adjust flavors (add sugar, tequila, or lime if needed).  Turn off burner and add white chocolate, stirring constantly until desired texture and thickness (again, no clue as to how much I use, probably 1/2 lb-ish). I store my fillings in a quart-sized Ziploc freezer bag.

Now that I have my ten fillings ready and chilled, I need to make a plan to fill my candy molds.  I have about 35 people (husband's coworkers and employees, both of our families).  So I want to make at least five extra of each flavor in case of accidents.  Accidents could be from too thin chocolate coating, or the filling bursts through the bottom, or the bottom slides off, or someone steals a 'sample'.  All have happened.   Candy molds are plastic and can mold anywhere between 8-12 candies per mold.  I prefer the hard plastic over the rubbery silicone. I've found working three to four molds at a time seems to be the most efficient, but for beginners don't try to do more than two until you get comfortable. 

I also use pre-tempered chocolate (Merkens).  This chocolate is very smooth and flavorful, giving me one less thing to worry about.  Get two work areas ready, laying down waxed paper:  one to fill the candy, and the other area for the finished products.  I usually use a sharpie to write on the paper, so I remember the flavors.  Before starting, pull the fillings out of the refrigerator to warm up.  The fillings should be thick, but malleable. If too thin, keep refrigerated until needed.  If too thick, you can pop them into the microwave for a few seconds.

I melt about 2-3 lbs of chocolate in the microwave.  Start at about 3 minutes, then take out and stir, continue nuking for 30 seconds at a time until melted.  Using a plastic spoon (trust me--the chocolate hardens on the spoon and you will want to nuke it) fill each mold to the rim.  Tap mold against counter to remove air bubbles.  Do this with each mold.  Return to the first mold, flip over and dump excess chocolate on the waxed paper (let harden and remelt as needed), roll the mold around tocoat the walls of the shell thoroughly.  Use flat scraper to wipe away excess chocolate and level the rims of the candy.  Pop mold into freezer.  Repeat with other molds. 

I used different mold shapes for different flavors.  I have a heart-shaped mold for Amaretto, a rose for my Chambord, etc.  I also wrote on a piece of painter's tape and put it on the mold so I can keep track of the mold and the flavor. 

Remove first mold.  Snip a bottom corner of the bag, squeeze filling into frozen shell until it is about 1/4 below the rim. If the filling is stiff, then gently press down to fill the air spaces.  If the filling is thin, pop into the freezer to firm up.  Repeat with other molds. 

When you 'top' off the candy, make sure your chocolate is warm.  If it has thickened and cooled too much, then pop it in the microwave to warm it up.  Using the plastic spoon take a half scoop of chocolate and spread over the filling, sealing the edges around the candy. Try not to make a mess as it will mean less work later. If the filling is too liquid and thin, the heavy chocolate will sink, causing all sorts of problems.  Thicker filling is better in the long run.   Seal all the candies in the mold and pop it into the freezer.  Repeat with remaining molds.  By the time you finish the last mold, it should be time to release candies. 

Take your filled candy mold from the freezer, flip over onto second area of waxed paper.  If the candies are ready, they will drop out of the mold.  If some candies fall out, but not all of them, take your hand and rub it over the outside of the mold.  The warmth of your hand will release the candy.  When you flip the candy out, try to do it as close to the waxed paper as possible.  If your chocolate shell was too thin, then the drop from the mold can crush the candy. Been there, done that.

Repeat a gazillion times.  Then you have to trim the excess chocolate from the bottoms of the candy (a sharp paring knife works well) and place in cute little candy cups.  I have a pair of cotton gloves that I use to handle the finished chocolates.  I don't want to melt fingerprints into the candy.  I store the candy in airtight containers.  I can usually fit two flavors in each 7 in. X 11 in. container.  Keep in a cool room until all candy is made.  Filling gift boxes is quick and easy as I make a circuit around my table.  Repeat until all boxes are filled.

Merry Christmas!